Positive points: Plus package is excellent and gives you the option to pay the difference for a premium drink. Menus are very clear as to what is or isn’t included. Excursions were expensive but very well organised. Overall entertainment was OK with the house band Dynamix the pick of the options. Friendly crew. Negative points; we cruised on Royal Princess in 2018 and at that time she was our favourite ship. 8 years on we felt that a referees was required. The sofa in our cabin was worn out and uncomfortable, there are no USB points in the cabin and there is a shower curtain rather than a glass door. None of these are terrible but many of the newer ships make Royal Princess seem a bit tired. We thought the medallion was just a gimmick. Yes it opens your door and I guess it helps the staff at the restaurant identify who is waiting in line. However, if you order a drink you still have to give your room number and the service is definitely slowed by the medallion. We waited for 25 minutes for a drinks order at Crooners, we waited an hour on another occasion for a drink at the Horizon bar and nothing turned up at all. We had instances where the app said our drinks had been delivered when they clearly had not. Trying to get a drink at the bar was very difficult. Staff didn’t know who was next in line and took ages to get served. Food was ok but not very imaginative! We prefer NCL, Celebrity and Princess in that order. Food choices on NCL are far more varied and they have far more speciality restaurants. On Riyal Princess Sabatini’s always had spaces so didn’t appear to be that popular. Ocean Terrace was virtually empty for the whole cruise. Finally, the descriptions for the excursions could be more helpful. One of the excursions we went on claimed that there was a transfer by ferry. The ferry turned out to be a small motor boat which took 10 people. You had to walk in to the sea and climb on board. This was ok for us but others could have struggled.

Cabin was spotless and the attendant excellent. All staff very polite. Food in restaurants warm at best, never hot. Chaos in The Horizon court cafeteria as no signage so hundreds milling round trying to find what they wanted. Chaos on tendering day. Had to get ticket and available from a certain time. Turn up at said time to find been open for 90 minutes and given number way down the order. People we spoke to lost money on private trips as couldn't get off the ship. Entertainment was so so. Couple of theatre shows were excellent but singers in bars were average at best. Had a fabulous time due to location of cruise, but Princess definitely at the bottom of the list of cruise companies I've been on before.

Embarkation was chaotic in Auckland especially with our disabled daughter as her issues were not taken into concideration and the local team had no understanding of priority boarding. The cruise itinerary was fabulous and all the excursions we went on were very well organised with the guides and drivers having fantastic local knowledge. the scenic cruising Fiordland was exceptional,albeit the weather helped and the running commentary was entertaining and informative from the Park Ranger

Huge ship, full occupancy on the cruise around New Zealand in Australian school holiday time. Parts of the ship were busy and others not, pick your own favourite places. Cabin was comfortable and although we had an obstructed view from the balcony it was delightful. We were very satisfied with the housekeeping and very comfortable bed. We upgraded the package and enjoyed eating in all the restaurants whenever we fancied each day. .